PS Vita System Software Update v2.01 Arrives, Details Available

Following up on their previous revision, today Sony has updated PS Vita System Software to version 2.01 (mandatory) which they state will remedy a bug in the automatic save upload cloud saving functionality that PlayStation Plus users experienced in v2.00.

While there is no official changelog available yet, below are some details from PS Vita hacker wololo, as follows:

Sony has just started to roll out the newest firmware update for the Vita. The new 2.01 OFW update is live in most regions and along with it, the new 2.01 OFW update is mandatory, which is some what unexpected.

Why Sony would make this mandatory is questionable since it was supposed to only fix a bug Sony had found in the 2.00 update, preventing some people to save via cloud, if you were a PS plus member. Not all users are plus members so the reason behind the mandatory update doesn’t make sense, there also is not a change log to accompany the update, so whats included is unknown besides the fix for that one issue.

This new update should not interfere with the recent findings of a kernel exploit in the psp emu and the VHBL on 2.00, but there is always a possibility something can get changed or patched. If you are on anything lower than 2.01 you will not have any type of access to any PSN services unless you update to the latest. If you are on 2.0 you should go ahead and update, however that is again a personal choice you have to make.

Users have found ways to get on PSN on lower firmwares, but if those methods are still working with this update hasn’t been confirmed yet. In addition, Open CMA also still does not work on anything higher than 1.81 OFW. Remember that any exploits released on 1.81 firmwares and below will not work if you update. Stay tuned for more updates.

Finally, VHBL has been confirmed as running on Vita 2.01 with a video below:

This will not come as a big surprise for those of you who know how these things work, but it’s always nice to have a confirmation: VHBL still runs fine on Vita’s firmware 2.01, and The Z proves it to us with a video.

The video showcases Frostegater’s latest port of VHBL to an unknown usermode exploit in a PSP Game. On the video we can see VHBL running Zelda on Masterboy (Game boy and master system emulator), Wagic (Collectible card game), and PSPFiler (File manager for the PSP).

This is most likely the same version that was running a few days ago on 2.0, as we can safely assume Sony did not patch any undisclosed vulnerability with 2.01. There is still no word on a release yet, and it is still unclear if Frostegater will focus on a VHBL release or work on his own port of Total_Noob’s CEF, since he seems to also be in possession of a PSP Kernel exploit.

As a reminder for those who just joined us, we had a PSP Kernel exploit available up to 1.81, but that got patched in 2.0. At this point we still have lots of usermode exploits that should allow fairly easily to port VHBL (which gives us access to limited PSP homebrew compatibility), but PSP kernel exploits are a treat which is much more difficult to find.

no no, there actually WAS a problem synching PS+ saves to the cloud storage, so indeed, this update adds something, or, should I say, fixes something that should be OK from the beginning... Actually, vHBL is still running on 2.01 with a video now posted here.

Video: PS Vita eCFW TN-C Running on Firmware 2.01 Demo Arrives

Following up on PS Vita Firmware v2.01 release and Half Byte Loader news, today wololo has posted a video of eCFW 6.60 TN-C from The_Z running on PS Vita System Software version 2.01 with details below.

From his blog: The_Z shows us some more work from Frostegater, who is in possession of a PS Kernel exploit and was able to port Total_Noob’s CEF (a PSP custom firmware running in the PSP emulator of the Vita.

The video shows the Vita running an iso of K-On, as well as PSP Filer, and gPSP, the GameBoy advance emulator.

For some of you this is old news (we already mentioned Frostegater has a PSP Kernel exploit), and I’m sure we’ll see a share of complaints in the form of “if you show it, release it”, but hey, this shows that a PSP CFW inside of the Vita on the latest firmware is still possible, and hope is good, I guess.

So what about a release date? Well this is where it gets tricky. Frostegater does plan to release his work, but his Vita was stolen so he cannot make efficient progress on the work. As you will see in the video, him and The_Z are trying to gather funds to get Frostegater a new Vita with a donation drive.

I’m myself not a big fan of “donate now, see the results later”, but Frostegater and The_Z insisted that the CFW release is independent of that donation drive, and I’ll remind the readers that Frostegater is the one who was behind the Mad Blocker Alpha exploit, and who ported the Gravity Crash exploit to the EU, US, and HK versions of the game.

So if you are one of those who enjoy(ed) these exploits, now might be the right time to donate to Frostegater. As usual, don’t donate in the hope of stuff to come, but donate for what’s already been accomplished. A donation link can be found in the video’s description on YouTube.

Update: Frostegater wrote me today that he finally got enough money for buying a new PS Vita. I should announce that the new exploit and the name of the new exploit game will be release this month!

The game will be announced like always, via a Ninja Release, since this is the best way for releasing the name of the game. The files will be available some days after the public announcement of the exploit game.